Health and Social Care Act 2012: Performance and Sustainability of the NHS

This Library briefing has been prepared ahead of the forthcoming debate on the impact of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 on the current performance of the National Health Service and its future sustainability. It provides a summary of the changes brought in by the Health and Social Care Act 2012, presents statistics on NHS performance and provides information on recent developments in regard to the issue of the NHS’s finances and its sustainability.

On 8 September 2016, the House of Lords will debate the motion "that this House takes note of the impact of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 on the current performance of the National Health Service and its future sustainability".

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 received royal assent on 27 March 2012, with many of its provisions coming into force on 1 April 2013. It introduced significant structural changes to the NHS, including the establishment of clinical commissioning groups, replacing the previous primary care trusts.

Since the passage of the Act, the NHS has continued to see increasing demand in a challenging economic environment. NHS Improvement—a body established on 1 April 2016 by bringing together existing organisations including Monitor and the NHS Trust Development Authority—has stated that:

Sustained operational and financial challenges continued to affect adversely the performance of the NHS provider sector in 2015/16. Providers faced record high demand and increased cost pressures. Throughout the year, providers worked hard to improve services for patients, reduce costs and maximise resources. Despite these efforts, the sector as a whole continued to underperform against a number of national healthcare standards, and the year-end deficit was almost three times larger than position reported in 2014/15.

On 16 December 2015, the Government established the Sustainability and Transformation Fund (STF), providing £1.8 billion to "help challenged hospitals to achieve financial balance while focusing on changing the way they provide high quality care for patients".

Notes on EGM of CCG 31/08/16

This is the text of two questions put to the Extraordinary General Meeting of the North, East and West Devon Clinical Commissioning Group on Wed 31 August by Anne Wardman from Torrington.

The CCG Chair Dr Womersley refused to record the questions and her carefully prepared and powerfully delivered preamble. So here they are.

Questions that I put to the CCG at the EGM 31/08/ 2016 when they were discussing the further closure of community beds

Preamble

Over the past 3 years the people of North Devon have watched you make decisions about their healthcare. Watched – because we, the people who were detrimentally affected were not permitted to take part in these unilateral decisions.

It is obvious your talents lie in decommissioning services. We have seen you strip and dismantle a service that was fit for purpose to one that now isn’t. Noticeably your decisions are made on economics, not on best patient care. Your compassion and caring has been obviously absent. Your legacy is to have single handled condemned not only this generation but future generations in North Devon, especially the old and frail , to a do-it-yourself “self care” service and in the meantime sold off North Devon’s family silver to privatisation - usually by the back door.

We have come to learn that your decisions are made behind closed doors in secret, rolled out in a smug self congratulatory way where the NHS professional standards of honesty, openness, transparency and integrity, advocated on your website, are sadly lacking.

Always getting one over on the people, especially those that are weaker, seems to be your aim. In consequence the North Devon public have learned not to trust you and have lost respect for you. We now see you already using the Success Regime as a scapegoat for the poor decisions you have made about our healthcare.

Two parts to my question

First part - What NHS is going to be left in North Devon when you have finished your deliberate dismantling of the service? Please be open and candid.

We know that you personally will be able to afford the new order of things but have you taken into account the people who have paid into the NHS all their lives, now to be defrauded, who will not be able to.

Second part - When are you going to wake up to the fact that you alone have dismantled and brought a poorer service and huge debt to North Devon (now £400 million)?

When are you going to think of the repercussions of what you have done, remember you are health professionals and develop a conscience and either fight on behalf of the people of North Devon for the NHS that they deserve or do us a favour and resign.

Download posters

Coach Trip To Exeter

The Save Our Hospital Services group are organizing a Coach Trip on Monday 19th September to County Hall, Exeter to attend the Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting where the Success Regime will announce their intentions for the future of Healthcare in Devon.

It is imperative that we make a BIG Peaceful presence to announce our opposition to Healthcare CUTS throughout the County.

The cost for the return trip will be £10 or as is quite likely, much less.

Full details will be forthcoming, but the initial proposal is to leave Ilfracombe at 8.30, picking up in Braunton at 8.50, Barnstaple 9.10 and South Molton at 9.30 ish.

Following the meeting, we will be returning in time to make the Barnstaple Town Council meeting where the MP will be answering questions.

If you are interested in joining us, please email me NOW to reserve your place.

Ian Williams

Report on the Peaceful Demonstration, 23 August 2016

An estimated crowd of 300 or more people turned up for the event held outside the North Devon District Hospital (NDDH). It was a hot day, and many people were wearing bright red to make a representation of the red line which SOHS say cannot be crossed by the Hospital Management in their attempts to cut services. A further visual picture was created as groups of supporters, linked by strings of red ribbons walked silently around the boundary paths. There was a great deal of positive support, and hopefully many more people are now aware of what is going on.

Do you have pictures or videos we can put on our website? Please send them to us. If it is a large file you can send it free using WeTransfer. Details can be found here. We would also like to hear from you if you are likely to be particularly badly affected by the possible changes. Send us your story!